a bit of outfit building

My apologies in advance for the amateur photos, I have recently been horrifically busy and I haven’t had much time for anything except work. I have been plotting a few things to write about and ways to change the blog but I don’t want this blog to be solely about one thing, I enjoy writing about fashion from my own point of view. I want to share more with this blog but I am not sure quite what yet. I thought today I would two things in one. Share with you some recent pieces I have purchased and various ways I like styling things.

I don’t do outfits post because most days I dress for work and though I sneak in the odd quirky thing, mostly its mono chrome or blue and very basic. I don’t get to give free rein to my wardrobe due to the horrid weather we have been having.

I will be doing some outfit posts and styling, recently I have had a big clear out and got rid of the old and stuff I have never worn and it is nice to have a mostly tidy wardrobe.

So I have dug a few basics out and I have combined these with the new stuff I have bought and I wanted to show how I have recently been wearing my wardrobe. I have been reading a lot of fashion blogs of late and I like certain things and how they are worn. I have bought a few things that are outside of my comfort zone because I liked them. For instance I have recently bought brothel creepers in blue suede with a pony skin Dalmatian print. These are beyond awesome for me but not something I would ordinarily wear because they are quite chunky and my go to shoes are converse. A lot of people have commented about the striking royal blue colour.

What the heck eh? I wore them yesterday with a skater dress and a light blue denim shirt. I liked the look simple but effective.

I know I have said this before but I like extreme but simple things. Making a statement is fun and it is great to put your stamp on something. When people say it’s not something I’d wear but it’s very you it makes me smile. I like being myself. It’s not about being individual or standing out it’s about being happy with what you wear. You could be wearing haute couture and not be comfortable; it shows.

So too the outfits; I have recently bought a sleeveless denim shirt, black with white cross patterned leggings, blue chinos, and a NME magazine print tee shirt. I have also bought a nude bralet, a sheer dip hem top. Tailored black gym shorts, wet look gym shorts, a sheer maxi dress and a white dress with cross print. Pre existing from my wardrobe I’ve used, black pleather vest, light denim shirt, leopard jumpsuit, brogues, blue handbag and lace booties and pink blazer. I thought it would be good to do something new. With these outfits I would normally wear dangly earrings, chunky silver bracelets/cuff or my charm bracelet.

I thought it would be good to do something new. With these outfits I would normally wear dangly earrings, chunky silver bracelets/cuff or my charm bracelet.

I have been keeping an eye on the 90’s revival trend and this is mostly what this post is about because it’s how I have been wearing stuff. Please note there are no customised Levis or John Lennon style glasses because sadly I’m not that cool. I do like the faded denim and bold leggings and the scarf prints. Mixing these with patterns sharp lines and sport lux details.

I have been adding more unusual things to my wardrobe recently because certain trends have caught my eye and I wanted a piece of the pie! (I might even invest in some disco pants eventually) I am not cashing in on blogger trends but it’s good to be inspired by them. One new blog I have found is Rosie Glow. I like the way she mixes stuff up. Late afternoon is the first fashion blog I found that I still read; she is beyond adorable. She is very much a Californian girl but I love the fact that she wouldn’t look out of place on the streets of London. (She is also ever so nice!) She has an amazing eye for detail and a great colour palette.

So for this blog I have been styling up a bit of 90’s revival, sports lux and a few scattered basics, I thought it would be good to do something new, with these outfits I would normally wear dangly earrings, chunky silver bracelets/cuff or my charm bracelet. I love sterling silver and gold. I am disappointed so many of my favourite costume pieces have just fallen apart so I have instead bought proper jewellery because it lasts.

So first up we have this awkward looking jumpsuit I bought last summer in leopard print from H&M that has been sat gathering dust at the back of my wardrobe because I didn’t know what to do with it, so I grabbed my pink/nude Topshop blazer and put it over the top and wondered if my tan/floral brogues would work well with it. I was surprised that I liked the result because the pink picks up the colour of the jumpsuit is complimented and the brogue gives it a nice twist. I like these brogues and I admire the girly brogues and dress look however it’s not something I would wear because it doesn’t suit me. I like that they have a ditsy floral print and the tan stops them being too pretty.

Next my NME t-shirt that I am wearing today with Dorothy Perkins basic skinny jeans.

I found these wet look gym shorts in H&M for £5 yesterday. I must admit I have been after a pair similar to these after seeing so many pairs on asos.com.

 

I didn’t want leather shorts because I already have a pair of pleather shorts. I like the sport lox feel of them and I can see them being a statement piece that could be dressed up or down. I need compatibility with things like this. I have so many things in my wardrobe because I have so many things I need a piece to work. With this I wanted simplicity but I also like the mixture of textures and shades of black. I would also wear these shorts with knee high boots tights a baggy tee. I think it would work well with the NME t-shirt and the light blue denim shirt (maybe even sneak in the brothel creepers). For this outfit I would add my Topshop lace booties and layer a floral body underneath the top to add a pop of colour and lift the black.

 

So today I have styled it with a cracked wet look cropped over sized tee and lace booties

Here is the sleeveless dipped hem top from Miss Selfridge. I have added my new black shorts from ASOS they are tailored with a rounded leg edged in satin, they were only £6 and I really like how they sit on the hips. 

They are quite smart, the top is simple underneath I would wear the nude bralet from Topshop.

The bralet is something I fell in love with the piece on their website but wanted to see it in the flesh because sometimes, things on their website look amazing but not so great in real life. I was really pleased with it.

I have also bought a sleeveless mid blue over sized denim shirt. I have already worn this with the asymmetrical cross print white dress from Topshop with wedged boots. For this post I have added my ASOS pleather vest and oversized key necklace. It could be worn as a dress because of the length with a leopard belt, worn over patterned leggings/trousers with shorts or over a dress. I again like the mixture of texture and textile.

I bought this maxi dress on eBay, it’s sheer and I need to find a simple slip dress to go under it. I have worn this with the light denim shirt and leopard gladiator sandals, I really like the simplicity and that it’s a bit fun and it doesn’t drown me!

These are the cross print leggings I have added the cracked wet look top again and the light denim shirt. I bought the leggings from eBay hat a steal £5.99 for item and p+p!

I have been looking at mixing textures and layering I like keep the pallet limited so key pieces do the talking for me. 

I want to bring more into the looks but I need to sit down and figure what I want to do and what I want to carry over for A/W. I want to keep the layers but incorporate some knitwear and different shoes. My next must have shoe wise is going to be new black leather loafers as my canvas ones have had it sadly.

I like the simplicity of a polished low key look but I love the bold patterns and doing more than one thing with an outfit at once.

 P.S

A few extras that have been added, the River island trousers I posted about a while back, my Topshop sale cigarette trousers in metallic pink and my tribal print H&M tapered trousers. All of these are usually styled with a ballet pump, simple sandal and a white or black woven front tee. I like all of these because printed trousers add a fantastic twist on an outfit. They have been a big trend over the last year in mostly floral, animal prints and textures. This is the mock croc aqua coloured satchel I have recently bought from a seller at work. I have also bought a massive over sized black envelope clutch. This is a skull bracelet made from taking 3 apart and putting them on to one bracelet. I like the colours. My studded brogues and London rebel leopard slippers. These have been included because they have been mentioned on the blog or on my #todayimearing tweets and I wanted to share them with you.

This post was to show recent interest in certain trends and how I would approach them, it’s not a show case for my appalling shopping habit.

I like shopping but you know that. I thought it was about time I started moving into this part of the blog as it was not only meant to be about my interest in fashion but how I wear stuff. I will make a few outfit posts in the next few months (once I feel brave enough to share them with you).

Thanks for reading.